Microsoft sued over ‘Vista Capable’ program

Last year, Microsoft and computer makers launched a program to put “Windows Vista Capable” logos on computers that met the hardware requirements to run the new operating system when it came out. It was part of the effort to keep people buying PCs despite Windows Vista’s delay.

In a varietyof places, online and in marketing materials, Microsoft and its partners made it clear that advanced versions and features of Windows Vista would take computers that were not only “capable” but also “premium ready” — meeting a higher level of system requirements.

But those logos, by themselves, didn’t make that distinction. And that’s the subject of a lawsuit filed against the company in U.S. District Court in Seattle. The suit alleges that some people bought “Vista Capable” machines assuming they would be able to run all the Windows Vista features that Microsoft was touting — such as Aero Glass, Flip3D, and the Media Center interface — when, in fact, their machines were only capable of running the bare-bones Windows Vista Home Basic version.

Here’s a copy of the complaint: PDF, 18 pages. See this story for more details. It was filed on behalf of Dianne Kelley, of Camano Island here in Washington state, and it seeks class-action status, potentially letting other consumers take part.

Microsoft disputes the allegations and says it will contest the suit. As explained in the story, Microsoft says it went above and beyond to make clear the differences between merely “capable” and “premium ready.”

Said Linda Norman, a Microsoft associate general counsel:

“The facts are just very different from what’s alleged in the complaint. … Microsoft conducted a very broad and unprecedented effort to educate not just consumers who were going to buy our products, but the PC manufacturers and retailers who sold computers to understand the hardware requirements to run the various flavors of the Windows Vista operating system.”

The complaint asserts that Windows Vista Home Basic can’t really be classified as a real Windows Vista version. Among other things, it cites the view from PC Magazine’s Lance Ulanoff that Windows Vista Home Basic “could be the most pointless edition of Windows that Microsoft has ever released.”

But Microsoft’s Norman said the lack of some advanced features doesn’t mean Home Basic isn’t Windows Vista. “Anybody who purchased a PC that had the Windows Vista Capable logo got the core experience of Windows Vista,” she said. “We have different versions, and they do offer different features. … The Windows (Vista) core experience is a huge advance over Windows XP, we believe, and provides some great features, particularly in the area of security and reliability, and just general ease of use.”

The lawsuit isn’t the first time someone has raised the issue of consumer confusion over the “Vista Capable” program. As an example, see the hypothetical scenario offered in this post last year by Microsoft Watch’s Joe Wilcox, then a Jupiter Research analyst: “Jack Consumer is looking for a PC for his teenager going to college. He buys a super-low cost PC with a ‘Capable’ sticker. Come second semester, when his daughter receives a Windows Vista upgrade from dear ‘ol dad, her computer won’t run Aero Glass. Ah, but her roommate has it!”